Câteva consideraţii asupra colecţiei de păpușare din patrimoniul Muzeului Naţional al Carpaţilor Răsăriteni/ Some considerations on the wooden cheese doll moulds collection of the National Museum of the Eastern Carpathians

Abstract

The wooden cheese doll moulds, a mark of the traditional Romanian shepherd's trade in the Curvature Carpathians, are moulds carved in wood, in anthropomorphic shape, used in the past to make the so-called cheese dolls. These dolls were given to girls by young shepherds who, once a year, came down from the mountains to choose their bride, at the traditional celebration of the Mocan (shepherds) communities of the Covasna area, Sântilia (Sfântul Ilie). The cheese doll moulds carved in wood bear a rich ornamentation, consisting in geometric, astral, zoomorphic, and anthropomorphic elements, which will be imprinted on the fresh cheese doll, decorating it. The National Museum of Eastern Carpathians has a rich collection of objects related to shepherding, among which seven such wooden cheese doll moulds. One of them became the logo of the Museum.